Landfill board wraps up plans for transfer station

With the new transfer station imminent, the Upper Platte River Solid Waste District (UPRSWD) board members express concerns over funding at the state level.

While Craig Kopasz, of Engineering Associates, reported that about 95 percent of the transfer station specs and plans are complete, board member and county commissioner Sue Jones discussed the state financial situation, saying that money is tight at the state level and UPRSWD should cover its bases to make up the difference in funds if it ends up being necessary.

Funds have been set aside for cease and transfer projects at the state level, though concerns of funding and hiring freezings at places like the Wyoming Department of Transportation have raised what the board believes to be an adequate amount of suspicion towards a guarantee of total funding.

After a discussion about activities in the legislature, the board established a need to look for alternative funding to make up the difference in the cases of amenities, like water and sewer. As chairperson Randy Raymer said, others are on the same hunt, but the Platte Valley is one of the first on the list for this required cease and transfer project. While the search for possible grant funding sources proves challenging, UPRSWD has time on its side and would only need alternative funds to make up the difference, Jones said.

As Jones clarified, the money is still available to them as far as they know right now however the state funding will definitely be tight this year. As such, while they plan to ask for the estimated $1.5 million required for the project, they are covering their bases about “extras,” like an on site bathroom, Jones said.

Jones asked the rest of the board members about movers and shakers in the solid waste world, recommending that they be in contact with Wyoming Association of Municipalities and the county commissioners. “We need to play politics too, is my point,” Jones said.

Grants discussed at the Dec. 2 meeting included a business readiness grant, for which the application would be due sometime in February. The board members discussed continuing contact with the Wyoming Business Council to see which other grants could apply to the project if or when funding is short for a completed transfer station.

The conditional use permit hearing is Jan. 4 at 10 a.m., Raymer said. Further business surrounding the transfer station itself included discussions of specifications to be completed, like the addition of smoke alarms and truck scaling and details about heating and bathrooms. Kopasz also brought up the possibility of transporting waste from the Valley to Rawlins instead of Casper to save costs, and Raymer said that they are not currently committed to anyone hauling the waste.

Leroy Stephenson brought a discussion to the table about portable toilets at landfill sites. Randy Munson, operator of the Encampment transfer station, has brought complaints to Stephenson about the frequency of service at the landfill, noting that they were not serviced often enough. While Aspen Portable Toilets currently holds the contract, Katrina Nuhn, of Posey Wagon Portable Toilets, has bid to service both Encampment and Saratoga. Raymer abstained from the conversation because of personal conflict. The board members passed a motion to send letters to the portable toilet companies alerting them to draft a proposal for the service.

The next UPRSWD meeting will be 6 p.m., Jan. 6 at the Encampment Library.